Guinevere Rising
by Rani of the Gypsies
Summary: With the Prime Merlinean's heart broken it is hard for him to work magic. Can the woman who is destined to be the new Prime Morganian heal him or will they destroy each other in the process? And what are Horvath's plans for the new Prime Morganian? DSxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Guinevere Rising**

With the Prime Merlinean's heart broken it is hard for him to work magic. Can the woman who is destined to be the next Prime Morganian heal him or will they destroy each other in the process? And with Horvath still hell bent on revenge, what are his plans for the Prime Morganian?

* * *

Chapter One : Another Day

I took solace in the music that began to play around me gently. As I took my first position for the choreography that I was working out for my midterm, I breathed in and out deeply and closed my eyes.

_Another day in this carnival of souls, another night sails in as quickly as it goes._

I went through my opening motions, gaining speed with the song and feeling out the beat as if it were my very own heart.

_The faces of people I'll never see again and I can't seem to find my way home._

There was a break in the song that gave me time to show off some jumps and spins, which were taxing but that was the art of dance for you. And it was my life now.

_Cause it's almost like your heavens doing everything to break me down, cause it's almost like your heavens doing everything to break me down. Break me down._

I was left breathless as I nailed the ending of my performance. I knew that mom would have been proud of me and Fiyero always loves it whenever I pick out "different" music. I clicked my stereo off as I stood and stretched. Dancing first thing in the morning always made me feel good. It was yet another rainy fall day in New York City though and I knew that I would have to bundle up as I walked back into my room to get dressed for the day.

* * *

_Beep beep beep beep_

I groaned as I finally hit the button to turn the alarm off. I laughed as the loyal Tank licked my face.

"Morning gorgeous," I stated lovingly as I rubbed his ears. I stretched as I slowly got out of bed, only to make my way towards the fridge for a Mountain Dew.

"You really shouldn't be putting that garbage in your body so early in the morning." I jumped as I saw Veronica and Balthazar behind me. You'd think that after a year, I'd be used to them coming and going as they pleased but I wasn't. I looked at Bennet who was sitting at our small kitchen table eating something that resembled eggs and bacon.

"Why do you let them in? Seriously man, I need a break." I was still upset with them. After battling with a particularly nasty Morganian in Estonia of all places, Becky had broken down and told me that she couldn't handle being with me anymore and that the stress was beginning to wear her out. I tried to be strong, but I had never had my heart ripped out like that before. It had been six long months now and I had not seen or heard from her.

"Dude, they at least get you out of the apartment for stuff other than school!" I brushed off another one of Bennet's grey wolf speeches and went to go get dressed. I had to give another presentation for Heiderman's Physics 101 class and I needed to be there early to set up.

* * *

I was glad that I had chosen one of my thick sweaters to wear as I pulled my coat closer to me under my umbrella. The rain was cold as it fell from the sky, I could see my breath in the air in the chilly November morning. I was happy to finally get to the science building on the NYU campus where I was greeted with hugs from two of my friends who were also taking Physics 101.

"Hey Gwen!" I smiled as I hugged Lacey and Tia, two of my fellow dance majors.

"Hey guys." We quickly took seats near the front as our guest speaker was getting set up. I pulled out a notebook and some pens. I yawned as he started speaking.

About twenty minutes in, I had about ten pages of condensed notes. Lacey, who was next to me was just staring at our speaker while Tia was looking over my shoulder to copy my notes.

"Psst! You guys got some free time after this," Tia asked Lacey and I. I nodded my head and Lacey looked back at her.

"Yeah, what'd you have in mind T?" I listened to them vaguely as I kept my attention focused on our speaker, Dave something or other. They were talking about getting lunch after this but I smacked Lacey's leg when I noticed Professor Heiderman getting up. He hated it when people talked during guest speakers. I sunk down in my seat a little and looked ashamed. He held his hand up and our guest speaker stopped.

"David, I'm sorry but apparently these three have better things to be talking about and I'm sure it has nothing to do with Tesla coils." He turned from David to glare at us but directed his eyes on me. "Miss Guinevere, you of all people, you should know better than that." I'm sure that I turned red as a summer tomato as he turned back to go sit down. I looked up at our speaker and mouthed an apology to him as he picked up where he left off. Lacey and Tia sat in silence for the rest of class, furious with Professor Heiderman.

The presentation ended up being really great in my opinion and the demonstration of a mini Tesla coil was awesome. Lacey and Tia were packing up and grumbling about Heiderman being an ass. I stood after gathering my things and approached our speaker.

"David, right?" He was startled by me and jumped a little as he spun around. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, yes! And you are Guinevere, right?" I nodded my head.

"Yeah but I go by Gwen though, Gwen Nichols." I held out my hand for him to shake as I continued. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry again and that I really enjoyed your presentation." He smiled as he shook my hand. I felt sparks travel up my arm as he did.

"Oh," he ruffled his hair a little bit as he let go of my hand, "thank you and you have nothing to apologize for. I didn't even notice you guys talking till Heiderman said something." I noticed Lacey and Tia waiting by the door looking impatient and to my horror, Tia had to go and open her damn mouth.

"Gwen, you can get your flirt on with cutie pie nerd boy later! I'm hungry!" I turned my head and glared at her and mentally thanked Lacey for smacking Tia upside the head. I blushed as I turned back to David.

"Well, that's my cue to leave. I think I've had more than enough embarrassment for one day. It was nice talking to you." I practically ran from the room to save myself and glared at Tia as we walked out.

"You are a BITCH!" I screamed out in exasperation as I heard a "bye" yelled from the classroom. I opened up my umbrella and Tia merely laughed it off.

"Oh honey, I may be a bitch but he'll remember you now." I rolled my eyes and we began arguing about where to eat for lunch.

After lunch, I went home to get changed for work. I also needed to feed my two fat orange tabby cats, Hollywood and Fefe. They greeted me at the front door with meows and attempts to bat at my feet as I put my umbrella away. I patted their heads as I walked into the kitchen. I got out some cans and poured the sticky food into their bowls. I watched them chow down for a few minutes before walking into my room where I proceeded to strip out of my skinny jeans and threw on a baggier pair. I also took off my raspberry colored sweater and changed it out for a soft and dreamy off the shoulder piece in white. It looked good over my black tank top. I kept my soft, black leather boots on since it was still raining outside. I almost considered taking my car as I stood to leave even though I walked everywhere. The rain was falling considerably lighter than it was this morning though and I could at least be pleased about that. I checked on the cats before I left again and locked the door behind me after grabbing my umbrella again. I walked down the stairs of my apartment building and then out into the rain.

The walk to The Knit Bits yarn shop seemed to take longer than usual, but I was greeted warmly as always. I clocked in and began checking the shelves and making a mental list of what yarns I needed to stock. I was humming to myself as I made my way to the back to grab what I needed when I noticed a few crates of yarn in a corner with a note from my manager on it.

_These are extra crates that were shipped to us accidentally. Everyone please feel free to take a few skeins of each. - Alice_

I smiled as I noticed that there were still some gorgeous colors left. I would have to get back here and grab some soon. I worked diligently throughout my shift and was happy when six o'clock finally rolled around. I got out with some absolutely yummy yarns and a text from Tia about a party that some of the theater majors were throwing. I decided that it could be fun and called her up.

"Please tell me you're coming tonight?" I laughed at the desperation in her voice.

"Yeah, I was calling to let you know I was going to be there and that I needed you to text me the address cause I need to go home and change first." I heard some scrambling around on her end as I looked around before I crossed a wet New York City intersection.

"I've got it and I'll text it to you later. You aren't the only one who needs to get ready." I rolled my eyes as I hung up my phone and put it back in my purse. I decided to take some of the back allies home so that I could get there quickly. I was looking around at some of the shops and couldn't help but notice one in particular. It was called "Arcana Cabana." I stared at it for a few minutes before I shook off the feeling of deja vu and continued walking. Maybe I'd stop by there some other day to see if something would jog my memory but for right now, I had a party to get ready for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Guinevere Rising**

With the Prime Merlinean's heart broken it is hard for him to work magic. Can the woman who is destined to be the next Prime Morganian heal him or will they destroy each other in the process? And with Horvath still hell bent on revenge, what are his plans for the Prime Morganian?

* * *

Chapter Two : The Party

"What do you mean you didn't get her number?" I flinched a little bit as Bennet yelled at me while I was digging through the fridge for some Mountain Dew. "Man, do I have to give you the grey wolf speech again!" I rolled my eyes at him as I turned towards him.

"No Bennet, you don't. I know that if I don't participate I'll end up getting eaten by a bear." He seemed pleased with the fact that I understood what he had been trying to tell me for so long. Tia, Bennet's girlfriend, walked in just then.

"Ben, you are not giving your roommate the wolf talk again. Leave the poor guy alone," I liked the fact that she stood up for me considering this was the first time we were meeting. When I looked at her though, I was thoroughly surprised to see one of the girl's friends from class this morning. She seemed to recognize me as well.

"Hey, you're the cutie pie nerd boy from earlier," I nodded my head as I held out my hand for her.

"Dave Stutler." Bennet was now confused and he looked between the two of us as we shook hands.

"Tia Skye," she said as she let go of my hand. "I really think that Gwen thinks you're cute, my friend from class earlier. I feel kinda bad for embarrassing her like that. She could use a cute boy in her life" I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. Bennet seemed to put two and two together.

"Dude! You're coming with us to this party tonight then. Gwen is bound to be there," Tia began nodding her head and cut in.

"She is, she just got off work and is going to meet us there. Please come." I scratched my head as I thought about it. I wasn't really into going to some of the parties that were thrown around here and I wasn't one most girls approached at those kind of things.

"Man, you have to come. Remember the grey wolf," Tia smacked Bennet upside the head and glared at him.

"Ignore that and just say you'll come. It'll be awesome, I promise." I thought about Balthazar and Veronica, who were going to be expecting me in the lab for training but I could blow them off for one night, they'd understand. Well, Veronica would but Balthazar would just be a stick in the mud. I looked at my two friends and nodded my head.

"Yeah, just let me go get changed real quick." Tia jumped and clapped her hands while Bennet smiled and nodded his head.

* * *

Upon arriving to my apartment for the second time today, I wasn't surprised to see Lacey out front. She waved at me and came to meet me when I turned the corner. She took my yarn bag from me as she turned to walk back towards the building with me.

"I'm guessing you want to borrow something," I asked as we entered the doors and made our way over to the elevators. She chuckled as she pressed the call button.

"As always if it won't be too much trouble." I shook my head at her statement and smiled at her as we walked into the elevator.

"It never is trouble girlie. But if you could try to not get any puke on my shoes this time, it'd be awesome." Lacey laughed at me and we spent the rest of the elevator ride in pleasant silence. I was yawning though when we finally stepped out. Lacey turned on me.

"NO! Oh hell no! You are not bailing on me and Tia tonight. You are coming to this party!" I laughed while I fished out my keys from my purse.

"Lace, I'm coming tonight. I'm just a little tired, that's all. I promise that I'm totally psyched for this party cause the drama kids know how to," was my response to her mini freakout. I set my purse and keys on the kitchen counter and walked towards my room where Lace had already entered.

"So, what are you going to wear tonight," she asked as I opened my closet doors. I began rummaging through things and finally found what I was looking for, a slinky little black dress that showed off a fair amount of skin but looked sick on me. I held it up for Lacey to see and her mouth popped open. I nearly about fell over laughing from her expression alone.

"What, a girl can't dress up every now and again," I asked as she continued to stair at me.

"Well, yeah," was the beginning of her response, "but Gwen, you never do." I shrugged my shoulders and laid the dress down on my bed.

"I feel like looking like a dirty slut tonight, deal with it."

As it turns out, Lacey did want to borrow a dress from me, which I was perfectly okay with since we were always borrowing each others stuff. I was in the middle of doing my makeup when Lace got a text from Tia saying that she was out of her final class and that she would meet us later at the party after she met up with Bennet, her boyfriend of the past year.

I finished applying the makeup that I hardly, if ever, wore and then began to change into my dress. The fabric was soft and sensual, it made me feel sexy and beautiful and completely hard to get. I stuck with the whole boot thing I had going on and pulled out a great pair of slouchy cowgirl boots that began just below my knee. They made my already long legs look longer with the shortness of the skirt on the dress. I was really beginning to get myself excited for this party because I thought I looked fucking hot. I left my strawberry blonde hair to fall in it's natural wave pattern even though I did blow it out a little with my hair dryer. I grabbed my favorite white and black coat out of the closet and tossed it out on my bed next to the small clutch purse that I was going to carry tonight. The last thing I put on was a pewter necklace and earring set that my mother had left me. It had green and black Austrian crystals adorning it and sat perfectly around my neck and my ears. I kept my favorite emerald ring on and before I knew it, I was locking my front door again and leaving with Lace. And for the first time in months, I was excited to go out.

Upon arriving at the house for the party, everybody was either dancing, drinking, or some form of both. Lacey and I were making rounds, saying hi to everybody we knew and started getting ready to have a good time. I had taken off my coat and was getting stared at by plenty of guys and earning glares from just as many girls. While walking around the house, I ran into one of my best guy friends, Aiden. Needless to say, he was happy to see me. I should have some bruises in the morning from where he glomped me.

"I can't believe you're here! I really thought Tia was joking when she said that you were coming!" I laughed as he continued on, "You look so hot though! Are you waiting for a guy to show up? Oh my God you have to let me know when he gets here!" I shook my head.

"Aiden! I dressed up for me! And I felt like coming out tonight, deal with it!" We talked for a few more minutes before he finally pulled me to where everybody was dancing. It felt good to not be a classically trained dancer for one night.

* * *

Tia drove us to the party after I got changed. I was slightly intimidated when we pulled up to the house. I'm not really one for parties, but the music sounded good and I knew that Gwen would be inside, more than likely dancing with a friend. I walked into the party with Tia and Bennet, who were already saying hello to people, and I was following them like a third wheel. We claimed the table in the kitchen, where we were spotted by Gwen's other friend. She ran up and hugged Tia while Bennet handed me a beer from a nearby cooler. The girls continued talking as we walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Some song I didn't know, no surprise there, was pounding throughout the entire house. All of a sudden, there was a loud group "OHHHH!" come from the direction of the living room. We all kinda shifted so we could see what was going on. All I saw were flashes of strawberry blonde hair as a couple was dancing around the room.

I watched them for a few minutes and came to realize that the girl was Gwen. God, she's talented. And completely beautiful when she dances. I couldn't help but stare at her. She had me mesmerized entirely and I was clapping with everyone else when the song came to an end. Gwen and her dance partner stood and bowed and her face was flushed. She was laughing as she hugged her friend and kissed him on the cheek. God, I hope that I'm not here just to make an idiot of myself. When she came walking closer to the kitchen, I felt my palms get sweaty. Thankfully she talked to Tia and the other girl before she noticed that I was standing next to Bennet, who I immediately engaged in conversation.

* * *

Dancing with Aiden was always good fun, we liked to put on a show for people sometimes whenever we were out together. So when some song that had a good beat came on, we looked at each other and we just knew it was going to be good. Because after the first few measures, everybody had cleared out of the room and they were all watching us. I was smiling and laughing and having a good time for the first time in forever it seemed, and it felt incredible.

When the song came to an end, we were bowing and smiling to everyone as the crowded the room again. I hugged Aiden and kissed his cheek as I told him that I needed a drink. I began walking towards the kitchen when I saw that Tia had arrived. I walked up to her and hugged her.

"Hey! Told you I'd be here," I said as she smiled slyly at me.

"I know," she began, "which is why I brought you a present with me." I tilted my head to the side, confused, as she looked over to her left. I looked where she was looking, and to my amazement, David was standing there talking to Bennet. I looked back at her in disbelief.

"You didn't! Shit Tia! As if I haven't been embarrassed enough in front of the guy! Gah, I'm leaving now. Have a good time Tia." I was slightly pissed at her, but I was kinda happy to see David again. He was cute and smart, two things that I liked. I glared at her before I walked over to David and Bennet.

"Hey guys," I smiled at both of them before I focused on David, "this party is getting kinda lame. I think I'm gonna go ahead and walk home. Have fun you guys." I moved for the front door as fast as I could without trying to run away. If my plan worked, David would be walking me home. I grabbed my purse from the kitchen first though and before I knew it, I was walking down the front steps of the house. Once past the gate, I heard my name being called.

"Gwen! Wait up!" I was happy to see that David had indeed followed me out of the house. He caught his breath for a second before he spoke again.

"I, I just can't let you walk home by yourself. You could get hurt around this part of town." I smiled at him sweetly.

"Aw, thanks," I said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "you're sweet." He was nervous, I could tell. But that, when paired with the slight stutter, only made him more attractive to me. I linked my arm around his and pointed towards uptown as I began walking with him.

"I live up that way a bit. I'm kinda hungry though and I had planned on stopping at this great diner I know of. I don't know if you'd be interested..." I left my sentence unfinished as I used one of the oldest tricks in the book, I tucked some hair behind my ear and bit my lip lightly as I looked up at him from the corner of my eyes. And when he looked down at me, I knew what his answer was.

"Sure, food actually sounds really awesome right now." David smirked at me as we continued walking. We walked for a while in a comfortable silence before he started talking to me.

"So,why are you taking Physics 101 when you're a dance major?" I can't believe how many people tend to ask me that question when they hear that I'm in that class.

"Because I needed a science class and I'm good with numbers so I figured that I'd give it a try." It was the honest truth and I let him know a little bit more as I turned to face him. "I'm really enjoying the class. And again, I really loved your presentation. Have you ever considered being a teacher? I think you'd be good at it." He smiled and looked down at his feet before looking at me. I think he may have even blushed a little bit.

"Thanks, physics is my life. As for being a teacher, maybe someday. That would be nice." I couldn't help but feel some sort of sympathy since dancing is what defines me and makes me the person that I am today. I smiled to myself as we turned a corner. The diner was in front of us at that point as were walking down a lit street. I shivered a little as we got closer and rubbed my arms.

"Dammit!" I stopped in my tracks and looked back but then looked up at David. "I left my coat at the party!" I didn't really want to walk all the way back, so I decided I could text Tia or Lacey and ask one of them to bring it to me tomorrow. I pulled out my phone from my purse and I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't even see David take off his red hoodie. I did feel him put it around my shoulders as I sent the text. He was looking down at me as he wrapped it around me tighter and I know that I blushed under his gaze.

"You should have mentioned that you were cold, I would have given it to you sooner. I was wondering why you didn't have anything to cover you." I put my arms through the sleeves and was swallowed by it. I forgot how tiny I was sometimes.

"Thank you David, you didn't have to." I wrapped my arm around his again and continued walking towards the diner. He held open the door for me and once inside, we were seated at a nice booth in the back. Normally this place could be packed, but it seemed like it was going to be nice and peaceful for once.  
David and I sat in the diner for what felt like hours, just talking to each other while we ate our food. I thought it was funny when he stared at me eating, cause he couldn't figure out where I was putting it all. After a while though, I did mention that I had to leave because I had work in the morning. He walked me home and it was nice to have someone by my side.

"Well," I said as I pointed at my building, "this is me." I turned and looked at him and smiled. I pulled my phone out of my purse and handed it to him.

"Put your number in there so we can hang out again sometime soon." David smiled as he took my phone and he promptly pulled out his from his back pocket.

"Only if you put yours in mine." I laughed and grabbed his phone. Once my info was in his phone, I snapped a quick picture of myself so that he would know it was me calling. He was done with my phone a few seconds later and we traded back again. We smiled at each other and I nodded my head towards my building.

"I really do have to go inside. I work in the morning." I bit my lip and decided that a kiss would be too much.

"Yeah, and I have class." David rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his feet before looking back at me, "I'll call you, soon. I promise." I gave him a wide smile as I moved closer to the front door.

"Cool. I'll see you around." I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door. I waved back at David one last time before I went upstairs.

When I got up to my apartment, I checked my messages. I had one from Tia saying that she got my coat and that she'd drop it off at work tomorrow for me. The other one was Fiyero's doctor, calling to confirm that I would be at the hospital this weekend so we could have our monthly meeting about Fiyero and how he is doing with treatment. I sighed at the thought and moved on into my room so that I could get ready for bed. Once I was ready and in bed, I was out like a light.


	3. Chapter 3

**Guinevere Rising**

With the Prime Merlinean's heart broken it is hard for him to work magic. Can the woman who is destined to be the next Prime Morganian heal him or will they destroy each other in the process? And with Horvath still hell bent on revenge, what are his plans for the Prime Morganian?

* * *

Chapter Three : Right Around the Corner

I hadn't gotten the chance to see David again, though we had spoken on the phone twice when we both had the time. And I actually kinda needed to see him now since he had forgotten to take his hoodie back from me after the party.

Work the next day went by fairly quickly and my classes for the rest of the week seemed to fly by as well. When Friday rolled around and my shift was done at work, I was happy to get home to get packed to go see Fiyero. Due to work and school, I only get to stay at the hospital every other weekend. I was humming to myself as I was packing my overnight bag and I was so into packing that I almost didn't hear my cell phone ringing. I reached over for it and picked it up right before my voice mail would get it. I didn't check the caller ID before I did though so I had no idea who I was talking to.

"Hello," I asked. I think I may have sounded a bit exasperated as I spoke.

"Gwen? Am I calling at a bad time?" I snapped my head up and looked around my room for some knitting to take.

"David! Hey, yes and no at the same time," I laughed as I said it while I was digging through my craft drawer.

"Oh well, I just wanted to see if you might want to get together...with me...uh, tonight actually." I couldn't help but smile at how sweet his nervousness was as I sat down on my bed.

"Oh," I knew he was going to be disappointed, "I'd love to but I'm getting ready to go visit my brother. I only get so much time with him between work and school." I chewed on my thumbnail for a second and came up with a solution.

"But I'll be back Sunday around five or so. We could go grab something to eat and then go to a movie or something like that if you'd like." I put a few final things in my bag while I waited for his answer.

"I have a class on Sunday that lets out at six thirty. Will that be a problem for you?" I picked up my bag and moved toward the front room.

"Not at all, cause that will give me time to get showered and changed so I won't smell like a hospital." I started to write a note for Lacey, who always watched Fefe and Hollywood for me, saying that they had tapeworm medicine that they needed to take while I was gone.

"So I'll see you on Sunday Gwen?" I couldn't help but smile at the thought as I looked over my apartment one last time.

"Yeah, it's a date." My smile got even wider as I heard David knock something over.

"Yea, yeah. A date." I laughed a little.

"Bye David," I said as I picked up my bags and walked out the door.

"Bye Gwen."

We hung up and I could just see him now, doing some stupid guy thing, like jumping up and down. I rolled my eyes as I took the elevator down to the parking garage. My pretty little silver 2003 Honda Civic was right where I parked it. I put my bags in the trunk, got in, and plugged my Ipod in as I started her up. I hit shuffle, pulled out of my spot, and started making my way towards the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Thankfully traffic wasn't too horrible for a Friday afternoon and I made good time. I parked only a little ways away from the main entrance and pretty much ran towards the building. Everyone knew who I was, everybody pretty much knew everybody here. The first place I went was Fiyero's room. He wasn't there but I set my bags down anyway as a nurse came walking in.

"Oh! Miss Nichols! I forgot that you were going to be here this weekend." I smiled at her.

"Hey Lauren. Where's Fiyero? I'm dying to see the little punk." She checked the chart on the door and flipped through a few pages before answering me.

"He's in a counseling session right now apparently, and I believe that Dr. Kushner would like to meet with you. Do you know where his office is?" I nodded my head but was confused as I picked my purse up and headed to the head Oncologist's office. I tried to shake off some feelings of dread as I did. I began chewing my lip as I sat in a chair outside of his office, it was not an easy wait to say the least. I pulled out my phone and texted Tia.

G: _So, I'm kinda worried about Fiyero. The Oncologist wants to meet with me and Fiyero is in counseling._  
_ It didn't take long for her to respond_.

T:_ He can't be near the end can he? He's so good about his meds and all the radiation therapy._

G: _I don't know. I'm hoping that they found a donor and they're counseling him about living cancer free._

T:_ I'll be praying for the both of you girlie. Want me to tell Lacey?_

G: _Nah, there shouldn't be a need to raise alarm just yet. I'll call you after the meeting._  
T:_K, ttyl girlie._

G: _Later_

I had to wait for only a few more minutes before Dr. Kushner stepped out of his office. I stood as he did. I appreciated his handshake as he addressed me.

"Hello Miss Nichols, I hope your drive was pleasant." I nodded my head as I followed him into his office.

"It was," I took a seat and so did he, "thank you for asking. Now, how is Fiyero doing?" Dr. Kushner sighed and took off his glasses. I knew that I had to begin to brace myself.

"Miss Nichols, Fiyero is a strong boy. Very strong, but his body has stopped responding to chemo and radiation treatments." He handed me some recent x-rays to compare to old ones. "The cancer has grown much more violent in its attacks." I was fighting hard to hold in the tears.

"So, what do you suggest we do," was the only thing I could muster out.

"Well, it is my professional opinion that you take Fiyero home and enjoy whatever time you have left with him. His blood type is just so rare that I don't think you'll be able to find a donor after all this time. He is scheduled for one more surgery tonight and then he should be able to be home by next weekend." I set the x-rays back down on the desk. I couldn't believe a year of hoping and waiting and fighting was about to come to an end. A tear ran down my face to my dismay.

"I understand. Will he still have his medicines to take or should he stop taking them?" I couldn't look this man in the eye, he pretty much was signing Fiyero's death warrant.

"If Fiyero wishes to stop taking the medications we have him on he can, but they help to keep a lot of his symptoms at bay and he really should continue taking them. As for the chemo and radiation treatments, they might work after this final surgery but I can honestly tell you that they more than likely will not work." I nodded my head and stood up.

"Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. I know you give it to every patient but, I just really want to thank you. It means a lot to me." I shook his hand again and then made my way to Fiyero's room in a daze. He wasn't even sixteen yet and I don't think he ever will be.

Upon reaching Fiyero's room I noticed that he still wasn't back yet, so I took the time to walk back out to my car so I could have a really good meltdown before I saw him. Fiyero hadn't seen me cry in I didn't know how long and I wasn't about to let him see me like this. It was not pretty and I pulled out my cell phone to call Tia and cry my heart out.

* * *

After the texts from Gwen about Fiyero, I was on my toes. I needed her to call me and tell me that everything was going to be alright. I scrolled through the pictures on my phone until I found my favorite one. It was me, Lacey, Gwen, Fiyero, and some of the other kids from the hospital celebrating Fiyero's fifteenth birthday. That was a good day, there was so much laughter and hope in the air.

"Tia, come sit down baby. I'm sure everything will be fine." I smiled nervously at my awesome Bennett, but I knew I wouldn't be calm until I heard from Gwen. I must have checked the clock for the hundredth time when David came in.

"Hey guys," he stopped when he saw me pacing. I don't know what happened though, because right after he looked at me, my cell started to ring. It was Gwen. I picked up immediately.

"Gwen?" She was sobbing hysterically and I couldn't make out anything that she was saying, which only made me start to tear up as well.

"Gwen, is everything alright? Is Fiyero okay?" When I mentioned Fiyero, her words became a little more clear.

"Fiyero...h-he-he's o-kay. H-He's get-geting ready fo-for surgery n-now. B-but Tia, his bo-body has rej-rejected t-the radiation. Th-e can- the cancer is killing him! H-he's go-going to d-die!" She started crying all over again and so did I.

"Oh God, I'm s-so sorry Guinevere! Te-tell me what you need me to do." I just let her cry for as long as it would take. I fought back tears as Bennett wrapped me up in a hug. Gwen's voice was barely a raspy whisper when she did finally talk to me again.

"T, how am I supposed to go back in there," I couldn't give her an answer the answer she wanted, but I could give her what she needed.

"Just walk sweetie. That's how you get back in there. Fiyero is still going to need you to be strong. You are his rock just like Lacey and I have been yours for the past two years. You are going to laugh with him and comfort him while he's scared. And when you bring him home, he will have the most amazing people around him to give him all the support and love he needs. He'll have you, me, Lacey, Bennett, Aiden, and you know all the people in our dance classes got your back." I wanted to list off more people, but I couldn't think of names right now.

"Since he's going into surgery tonight, come home when he gets out and wakes up. We'll all be waiting for you." I didn't think she'd respond, so I wasn't surprised when the phone clicked and the call ended. I looked at Bennett with sad eyes.

"Let's go, she really is going to need us when she gets here." I looked over at Dave. "I know you don't know Gwen very well, but she could really use as much support as she can get right now." I gathered my things quickly and I called Lacey and then Aiden as we left. I filled them in on what was going on and that they were going to need to meet us at Gwen's apartment. We were going to need to prepare for worst times ahead, especially with the holidays right around the corner.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Happy Cinco De Mayo!


End file.
